C/2009 R1 McNaught

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi all,
I made out R1 McNaught at mag 8.5 through my 7x50 Bins, diameter of 3'.
It will be slowly sinking into the morning twilight before we lose sight of it, it should be brightening as it does so.
So those with good dark skies now is a good time to get out and have a look!
It doesn't seem to be showing any tail yet, it will be a bright fuzzy patch through a telescope but still dim through bins.

Cheers!

[Liz]

Wow, mag 8.5!!
Havent had a chance to try yet, have had clouds the last few days, maybe tomorrow.
Looks like it will be tricky trying to catch it, when it brightens. :sadeyes:

[Outbackmanyep]

I had it at mag 8.0, dia of 9.5', DC of 4 on Sunday morning. No tail.

[Liz]

Yeah Chris!!
Alas, looks like the whole East coast is under cloud. :sadeyes:

http://www.skippysky.com.au/Australia/

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Liz,
Thats a bugger that cloud, but it should go away soon, just in time to catch it!
I hope you get a positive result from your search for it soon!

Cheers! :thumbsup:

[Liz]

Had a go before work this am - tried with binoculars first, but no luck, so set the scope up. Skies beautifully clear, and the temp a chilly 16 dg. :)
Alas, not a lot of time left after setting up scope, so didnt find it, try again tomorrow am.

[astroron]

Up at 04:00 this morning, the only thing I could see was Clouds /mist from one horizon to the other:sadeyes: Back to my warm bed:D outside Temp 4.5C
Try again tomorrow:rolleyes:
I missed the last early morning Comet :( the way things are going I am going along the same path to miss this one:sadeyes:

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Liz,
I reckon if you put in your lowest power eyepiece, and go to Chi (x)Pegasi and pan down to the horizon i'm sure you'll find it as a bright hazy spot with a tight bright central condensation (like a small globular) but not stellar.
Chi is located just below Gamma.
I hope you find it! :D

[Rob_K]

:lol: Gee Liz, I'm out in the crunchy frost at minus something!!! :P

Good luck with it, I'll be out with binocs & camera tomorrow morning, sky willing! Attached is the view from your place tomorrow morning, generated in Starry Night. :thumbsup:

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

Our mission is to help Liz track down a bright comet!

Liz....whats your limiting magnitude like up there in Maroon land where you are?

[Liz]

Thanks Chris .... I reckon I was looking around the Chi area, but will give it another go, and perhaps not rush it so much around there.



Thanks Rob, yes, I think there are a few crunchy areas around by the sounds.:lol:



:lol::lol: Sounds like a good mission.
Actually, I am pretty lucky, and live north of Townsville city, so fairly dark to the North.

[Liz]

Well, had another go this am - beautiful clear skies again, temp 14, and humidity 92%!!
Alas, still eluding me. Tried my a Vixen 40mm (not a great EP), then a 25mm Super Plossl, then my 14mm wide field. Concentrated around Chi and the star under it, but also around the general area. Did see a satellite and a meteor through the Ep!!
Ok, try again tomorrow, hoping weather holds out.
Thanks guys :thumbsup:
Good luck too Ron. :)

[Rob_K]

You're going to have to look harder Liz! :D :P

No luck here either, not a shot fired in anger! Got out at 4:50am, but Gamma Pegasi was barely visible and Chi not at all due to mist. Got worse from there, Gamma disappeared altogether and even Jupiter dimmed right off. Of course it was clear as a bell in the SW, but hey, that's astronomy! ;)

PS: Crispy frost, makes ya feel alive!

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

Keep trying Liz!
It will be there! Fuzzy spot .....remember!
It will move lower and lower pretty much in a straight line from Chi Peg.

My obs this morning
C/2009 R1 McNaught
2009 May 19.79 UT; m1= 7.5; Dia= 7.5'; DC= 5/6; 7x50B
No tail, central condensation a little more pronounced.
Comp Star= TYC 1180-226-1; Method= S; Cat= TJ

[Liz]

Aah, very embarassing ..... was looking at the wrong area of the Pegasus square:o stupido ...... realised after studying Robs chart. Thought I was in the Chi area, but certainly wasnt, was looking at stars 66 and 70 area near Jupiter. Now I WILL find it, alas, clouds have returned :sadeyes: ... butwill get it in the next few days. :thumbsup:

ps ... thank you for those charts Chris.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Liz,
Im glad we have at last got you on the right path, i'm sure you'll find it ok!
From your latitude R1 will appear to slide to the horizon on an angle, from my latitude it goes almost straight down!

Good luck!

PS.....Bugger off clouds!!!!!!!

[Outbackmanyep]

Rob_K imaged the comet this morning and it's sporting a faint tail, he says about 10' long.
Considering the coma diameter is around 9' the tail is probably 3 times that!

Cheers!

[mithrandir]

See http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=595438&postcount=5 for the latest ssystem.ini data for C/2009 R1 and 81P/Wild 2

[Rob_K]

Here's the links - hope the PA's right as I measured it anticlockwise from N because it's in the celestial sphere (ie the tail's pointing roughly westerly)... :shrug:

http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww271/Rob_Kau/cR1comp20May10text.jpg
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww271/Rob_Kau/R120May10Regcroptext.jpg

Nice pre-dawn skies this morning, but after madly imaging for as long as I could I went back inside for binoculars and came out to find the dawn light was washing things out badly. Missed the visual but happy with the shots, rough as they are! :D :lol:

Hope Ron & Liz do better!!

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

Interesting to note that my obs from 13th May:

2010 May 13.78 UT; m1= 8.0; Dia= 5.1’; DC= 4/5; 25cm L, f:5 (x39)
Coma bright, slightly elongated to WSW (seems broad at x83), faint outer coma edges gradually concentrating to centre, central condensation not quite stellar.

Showing the tail was probably developed way back then but too faint to see, the coma was definitely elongated in the approximate direction that the pics now show....i might have a look at the JPL orbit simulator and see what the prospects are for anti tail formation.

[Liz]

:lol::lol: great pics Rob!!
hopefully clear in the morning, fingers crossed ;)
Woohoo, a tail :thumbsup:

[Liz]

Thanks Andrew!! Popped it into mine. :)

[Liz]

Had a go this morning, but is lower in Andromeda now, and trees obscuring viewing from where my scope is at the house. Went down beach and took a few pics, and had a look in binoculars (no go), then back to scope in case it was a bit higher. :sadeyes:
Will have to set up scope out in front of house on road for tomorrow.
Apologies that image is a bit outa focus. :shrug:

[Rob_K]

Beautiful shot of the zodiacal light Liz!! :thumbsup: Just looking at the shot, it's quite possible that the comet is in it - your text is a bit in the way, but a line of three stars of similar magnitude above the comet position are clearly visible and there might be a little green tuft that is actually the comet! Cross marks approximately where it should have been.

Cheers -

[Liz]

Thanks Rob, did have a bit of a look for the comet, but not as expertise as yourself.
Can you find it in this one?

[mozzie]

damn!!!!!checked starry night and the trees to the east are going to be in the way ill have a look in binos if the weather is clear!!!

[Rob_K]

It's possibly there but not strong enough to give a definite on Liz. Line of three stars from previous image are barely visible.

Cheers -

[Liz]

Yes, Damn those trees!!!

Cheers Rob. :)

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Liz,
You definitely have it in your first image above your < mark. Its the round green smudge.
Nice work! You're "this" close to getting it visually i reckon!

I am under solid cloud, looks like it'll stay that way this week (f-it)

[mozzie]

damn light cloud can see jupiter through it no chance of comet!!!!! still there was a -7iridium to the north seen even in light cloud and again at 5.46am -6 iridium.iss at -3.3 at 5.52am so its still well worth venturing outside

[Liz]

Yes, cloudy here too this am :sadeyes:
Solid cloud!! Oh no Chris :sad:!!
Clear skies perleeeease. :thanx:

[Liz]

YEAH!!! Finally, found the little blighter.:cool:
Up 4am and down to the beach for a few pics, and trying to spot comet in binoculars, but no luck. Back to house and dragged Dob down to the road and set up. Was worried as comet sinking lower and lower, and I could just see the area above my rooftop. Also incoming cloud from all directions. :prey: Popped in the 25mm Plossl, and voila, there it was!!! Nice rounded blob, no tail seen. :)
Back down to beach, for more pics of Mercury.
Will post some images when I get home from work later this arv.
Thanks Chris and Rob. :thumbsup:

[Rob_K]

:2thumbs: Great stuff Liz!! How did you go Ron?

Cheers -

[astroron]

I have been up every morning for the last week at 04:30 only to be greeted by MIST or CLOUDS :cloudy::cloudy: This morning was no exception:mad2:
Time is running out for me to catch this Comet:sadeyes:

[Outbackmanyep]

Ladies and Gentleman.....LIZ has entered the building!

Well done Liz! Persistence paid off, im glad we were able to help.
Its a nice looking round blob in the EP, such a great thing comets are.
I bought Bintel's last Swan Band filter on special and it's probably why i am wall to wall clouds, i guess it'll be back to good ol 12th and 13th mag comets this time next week! LOL

[mozzie]

well done liz:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Liz]

:lol::lol:
Must admit I was worried I was going to miss it, as getting quite low. Was lucky I had clear skies for awhile this am, as TOTALLY cloudy by 0600!!
Thanks Rob!!
Good luck Ron!!
Have fun with those 12th and 13th mag comets Chris. ;)
Couple of pics below, tho comet certainly not jumping out at me.

ps. got my TeleVue 32mm Plossl today, so more incoming cloud for me, alas.

[Outbackmanyep]

I had a report this morning from Con Stoitsis (ASV Comet Section Director) that R1 is mag 6.8; Dia= 7.5' and DC of 6.
Possible short thin tail.

Too bad im clouded out :sadeyes:

[Liz]

6.8!! Am glad I saw it when I did, as has been cloudy here since. It is so low now that I wouldnt be able to get my scope to a spot where its visible. This is probably the last we see of it as it heads towards the Sun. :sadeyes:
Bugger about the clouds Chris, but you saw it quite a few times.
Bring on the next one please. :)
I missed the BIG MacNaught, a few years ago, as hugely cloudy up here, and when it cleared, it was gracing the southern skies. :sadeyes::sad:

[Rob_K]

Not necessarily Liz - you're a good way north, and in Townsville at next New Moon on 12 June it will still scrape up to 3 degrees altitude in NE in very early dawn twilight. On the 9th of June for example, with a thin waning crescent moon that won't interfere too much, it will reach 8 deg before it gets washed out. On present trends, the comet will be a very easy naked-eye object by then! If you can find an ocean view to the NE, WOW!! So we southerners will be relying on you as our eyes-on-the-skies!! :lol: :thumbsup:

Cheers -

[Liz]

Hmm, thanks Rob, I will be looking from the beach (at my front door!!) ;)

[Outbackmanyep]

Ok then Liz, we will just have to train you to make some comet obs! We need do-ers!

[Liz]

Yikes :help2:!!
Down beach this am for another look, but sky pretty bright, even at 5am, with a nearly full Moon in the west.
Couldnt see comet in binoculars, bit too far to take Bella (my Dob).
Will have a look in a few days.
Took a few pics, and magnified, but cant see anything out of the ordinary.
Report 1 - no comet, no blob and no tail. ;)

[astroron]

As the "Two Ronnies " would say, "It's Goodbye from him and it's Goodbye from me" as far as this Comet goes, as there has not been a clear morning up here for about three weeks, ditto this morning:mad2:

[Outbackmanyep]

Last report i have had is from Con Stoitsis, from another observer, who had R1 at mag 6.4.

[Liz]

Had a look this am, but sky pretty Moonlit. Checked the area in binocs, but couldnt see any fuzzy comet areas, though still very light in binoc.
Will put up some images, and tho did try to shoot some Raw, and stack them, the result = disaster, so what you see is what you get. ;)
In 2nd pic, the bright star is Beta Andromeda, and comet should be to the lower right of it.

[Liz]

... spending waaay too much time on this, but studying image 3, and can kind of see a tail, or could be wishful thinking. ;)

[Rob_K]

Great perseverance Liz! :thumbsup:

I checked the comet position for yesterday morning, guessing at about 5:30 am, and I reckon you've got a trace of it, marked in the attached image (cropped & enlarged). That is spot-on where it should have been. The jpeg compression confuses things a little but there should be some good info in your original subs.

Cheers -

[Suzy]

Hey there Liz, you deserve a medal for determination :thumbsup:.
You can do it! Just a matter of time ;).

[Liz]

Ha, thanks Suzy. I am just so glad I did see it last week, but would love to capture it on a pic before it disappeared. ;)


Popped down to the beach again from 5am - wow, the position of the comet is very low in Andromeda, and the half Moon not too far from Pegasus now.:sadeyes:
Bful am though at a balmy 18 dg. :)
Couldnt see the comet in binoc alas, but took heap of images, though not jumping out at me when downloaded.
Image 1 - about 7 images (only about 15 sec cos of Moon) stacked in DSS. (thanks Rob) Tried to process in Gimp and Media Impression, but not a great improvement.
Image 2 - about the same as above.
Running out of time, and at New Moon ... well, I will certainly give it a go, but could be hovering in the thick atmosphere just above the water. :shrug:
Still better off than you guys further south though.
Mercury at right of frame over Maggie Island.

[Liz]

... oh, should have said that I think it maybe one of the 2 stars here??
Rob and Chris, what do you think?
Rob, can you do your clever processing on one, to see if it helps??

[Rob_K]

Houston, we have lift-off!!! :lol: :thumbsup:

You got it Liz! Nice green-blue comet, and dare I say it, a trace of a tail??

If you go back to your pre-jpeg compression stack and work the levels harder you should get a nice result. Crop it to a fairly small size (so you don't get so much jpeg compression in making it forum-friendly) and post it again! Congrats!

Cheers -

[Liz]

Yeah, it had to be there, but I was looking just a bit under where it should have been. Yes, I can see abit of a tail!! Still not too bright though?? Thanks Rob!! Will email re 'work the levels'.

ps.... Rob has processed the image and there is no tail, ? artifact.

[Suzy]

Wooooooohooooo Liz! :party::party::party:
Bella didn't let team Liz down!

[Liz]

Alas, Bella didnt make it down to the beach, a few steep steps .. :sadeyes: just my Canon camera (oh unnamed one). :lol:

This is an image that Rob has played with. :thanx:

[Suzy]

Wow, it really stands out in this shot.:eyepop: Good work team.;)
What a great bunch of people to help you with all the determination and perseverance this took. :thumbsup:

[Liz]

Thanks Suzy!!


Out again this am, and the comet is now naked eye!!! Am very lucky to live where I do, thus getting good views of this comet.
Might even drag Bella (scope) down to the beach tomorrow to to check out the comet and tail . Bella doesnt like to get sand in her toes, but what the heck. ;)
Managed to get some better images this am, thanks again to Rob telling me to push the ISO up to 1600, whereas I had had it at 400 due to Moon.
Couple of images, stacked but not processed very well (hopeless at this stage), but a tail is definitely visible!!

[MrB]

Nice one Liz :)

[Liz]

Thanks Simon. :)
Looking forward to the next few mornings as the tail grows!!!

[Outbackmanyep]

Good onya Liz!
Well done!

I have been trying for the past 3 mornings to see it, i had been getting up at 4am, sticking my head out the window to see clouds, then head back to bed only to wake to a clear horizon........i had a perfect night last night but i hurt my back at work and i decided not to risk any further injury as i had a job of trying to stand up, it's still a little sore today.

Keep them obs coming in won't you!?

[astroron]

No Luck again this morning:cloudy:

[Liz]

Yes, had another look today, but such a small window of opportunity (prob 5.15 - 5.30ish), as it sinks into the murkiness of the light horizon. Well down from Gamma Andromeda, and prob heading into Perseus in the next 2 days, and just about out of my line of sight. :sadeyes:
Took quite a few shots, but not as good as yday, I couldnt even see it today - its lower and the Moon is lower = zilch!!
My images still showed a faint green patch.
Did have a look through scope, but a lot of trouble getting scope away from trees, getting stuck in sand, trying to go slowly so as not to wake the neighbours or their dogs ..... and by the time I found the comet it was getting light, so couldnt see the tail. :mad2:

Bad luck Ron. :sadeyes:
Ooh, take care Chris.

[Outbackmanyep]

This is what it's looking like from the Northern hemisphere!

http://www.nightskyhunter.com/Sky%20Events%20Now.html

[Liz]

Oh to take photos like that, or even to have the equipment to take photos like that, just beautiful!!

[Outbackmanyep]

Well it's officially gone for me! But Liz if you want to try for another comet your best bet is 81P/ Wild or C/2006 W3 Christensen. You will need a dark sky to find them easily! I can find them both with my 32mm Televue Plossl and 10" f/5 dob. They are "faintish" but still bright as comets go, neither have tails so look for a diffuse patch of light.

[Liz]

We have our group meet this Sat night at a dark site, so will check them out.
It will give me comet EP a nice workout. :) Yes, a 32mm Televue Plossl!!

[Outbackmanyep]

Righty-o! Sounds great!

I had to put up with the high winds and 3 degrees temperature last night, at it again tonight! Thank god for clear skies!

[erick]

There is no hope for we southerners seeing it, as it brightens further, is there? Seems too far north from here?

[Rob_K]

Don't give up on it yet Eric - it's gone for us, but will be back in end of July-early August, fading off unfortunately. :thumbsup:

Alan Hale wrote this:
"After perihelion Comet McNaught should become visible from the southern hemisphere around the beginning of August; it will be in western Hydra and possibly around 7th or 8th magnitude. It travels towards the south-southeast over the subsequent weeks and months, through Antlia, Vela, and Centaurus, and by the end of October is in southern circumpolar skies; by that time it will likely have faded beyond the range of visual detectability. For what it's worth, the comet passes within one degree of the south celestial pole shortly after mid-January 2011."
http://www.earthriseinstitute.org/coms47.html

Here's a good site too:
http://www.cometography.com/lcomets/2009r1.html

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

10P Tempel is a nice object at the moment, albeit fuzzy and roundish.

I had 6 comets on my list and observed 5 of them, H2 Vales being the faintest beyond my limit with the 10", so it'd have to be fainter than 14.5 mag.